Uplifting, Encouraging, and Fun blogging.

Something that is very difficult for me is telling people no. Anyone else have a hard time with that? Some of you know that along with my normal 40 hour per week job, I also work part time for a local dental society, I sell Tastefully Simple, and I make cakes and cupcakes. To say I am spread thin is an understatement. Now please don’t get me wrong, I love all that I do. I am by no means complaining and I am certainly blessed. I am a person that thrives on staying busy. I function better that way. But, sometimes I get tired.

Over the last year I have gotten so overwhelmed with the amount of items on my plate that at times I just cried. Finally I had to step back and ask myself “is this taking your peace?”. I believe that we all get ourselves in situations where we just feel overwhelmed. We just aren’t certain that there are going to be enough hours in the day to complete what is on our to do list. Why did I allow myself to schedule this much to do today? Why did I tell him/her I could do this? Why did I think I would have enough time to complete this? Hmmmm. Does this sound familiar? I am right there with you sisters and brothers. I just want to say something to you that I have learned to say to myself. I promise my life has gotten so much better by living by this one sentence……If It Takes My Peace, It’s Not My Path. Can I get and AMEN????!!! Now say it to yourself, “If this takes my peace, its not my path”. No don’t you feel better already?

Learning to say “I’m sorry but, no” does not make you a bad person. It isn’t easy to say but necessary. Honestly we shouldn’t even be saying the “sorry” part but, I try to be a nice person. Here’s an example of what I mean. I post on my cupcake social media page when I have openings to take orders. These dates are posted obviously, because I am booked the other days of the month or I have other plans that will not allow me to bake. At least weekly, I get a message from someone asking “can you make a cake for tomorrow, this weekend, two days from now”. At first I would always say sure. I would get up at 2 am if needed to meet the needs of others. I never said no, when in all honesty I wanted to say “excuse me but do you read?”. I know that isn’t nice but its true. After a year of working myself to exhaustion I had to pause and say to myself “if it takes my peace its not my path”. You know it’s just not acceptable to me to stop baking. It is my therapy. It is what I love to do. So I either learned to say “I’m sorry but, no” or I give up my passion. I completely learned to say no.

Saying No is a way to take care of yourself. It’s called self care. Putting yourself above others, especially when you are completely exhausted, is NEVER wrong. It is okay to rest. It is okay to have a day for yourself. It is completely okay to say no. If you don’t take care of your temple (body, mind, and spirit), you can’t be your best you. It is okay to say no. On that same note, when someone tells you no remember this discussion. Maybe that person is stretched too thin. Maybe they are under too much pressure. Don’t take the “NO” to heart. They could just be tired.

I guess if you take anything away from this evenings blog just take this….. If it takes your peace it’s not your path and it is completely fine to say I’m sorry but, no. Have a wonderfully blessed evening. Count your blessings and love on one another. ❤️ Always

One thing that I wanted to make sure and add to my blog is honest product reviews. My hope is that someone will comment their thoughts on each product and even tell us about others that they feel work better. After all we are all here to help each other right? I figured I would start with something that I feel is useful. For years, and I mean about ten, I have suffered with insomnia. And let me tell you for those of you that have no trouble sleeping for hours on end, insomnia sucks!!! I live with a precious man who can crawl in to bed and within 5 minutes he’s in lala land and snoring like a giant grizzly. I’m so jealous of his sleeping ability. You’ve probably noticed that a lot of my blogs are posted at night. Well my darlings, this is because I can’t sleep. It’s my best time to work.

So here is where those of you who aren’t use to my “weird” will start shaking your heads. I don’t necessarily agree with taking “medication”. And before you go nuts, I do take over the counter medications if I absolutely need it but, I would prefer to try to “fix” health issues by eating correctly, exercising, and using the correct vitamins and herbs. I keep Tylenol, Benadryl, and Ibuprofen in my cabinet just in case.

Insomnia had decided to become my little best friend. After realizing that not getting sleep was making me so sluggish, causing horrible brain fog, and killing my immune system, I decided to try to take something to help. First I tried a magnesium supplement. Sorry but this did absolutely nothing. It is very good for your heart and nervous system so I continued to take it but, no help with the insomnia. Next I tried valerian root (have you ever smelled that stuff? It smells like dirty feet! GAG). Now this seemed to help me “get sleepy” so maybe for others it would work well. I however; had a side effect. Not only were my dreams completely nuts (whew let’s not talk about those) but, it gave me a terrible headache. I then resorted to taking a Benadryl every night for a very long time. This works fine except I sometimes need that Benadryl for true allergies. If you continue to take it every day it will not work as well when you really do need it. Also, taking it for a long period of time can cause your heart to flutter. Mine did! Not to mention the hang over every morning.

Now to my product review. A few weeks ago I broke down and bought something after receiving advise from a pharmacist whom knows that I do not “like medication”. The product is called “Sleep” by OLLY. It is a mixture of melatonin (3 mg), L-Theanine (100 mg) and chamomile, passionflower, and lemon balm extract. They are gummies and you can eat one or two. I eat two. Y’all, it works! I usually eat the gummies about 40 minutes before I am ready to go to bed. It helps my mind to stop turning like a hamster in its wheel. Now, I still only stay asleep for 5 – 6 hours but, it is good solid sleep. I do not feel hung over the next morning. In fact I feel so much more rested in the mornings that I have been able to get up before work to get in a spin class.

Now before you go grab a bottle make sure it is okay with your doctor or pharmacist. I take no other medications so there is no chance of it mixing badly with anything else. All I know is that it is working for me. Hope that helps someone. Have a wonderful evening and happy sleeping. ❤️ Always

Just wondering how many of you have been around someone who always has something negative to say? I mean everything that comes out of their mouth is negative or depressing or just plain sad. Have you ever noticed how long it takes for you to go from happy to “let me the hell out of here” while you are around them? Sorry, yes I said hell but I don’t really consider that as a “bad” word. That type of attitude rubs off so quickly. If you put a positive, upbeat person in a home with one other person who is nothing but negative I wonder how many days it would take before they both become miserably depressed? I would almost bet less than 2 days. Or would they both become positive and upbeat? Don’t you think it would take many more days for the positive to rub off? It’s something to ponder really.

I consider myself to be a positive person. I believe in kindness and showering folks with the care they need to infuse good vibes. Do you know how much more difficult building a person up is than beating them down? That beat down that was just given is a sign of weakness. A sign to me that the one giving the “beat down” probably has a few little issues of their own. I take it as a personal challenge, and yes I am a very prideful, goal oriented person, to take that high road. The task of lifting others up, or as I say “being the light”, isn’t for the weak or lazy. It is a constant pressure that is there pushing you to try to bring out the best in others.

So here is a little story. In the past I had someone whom I was in contact with who never had anything positive to say. He was like little pigpen on Charlie Brown except the cloud of dust that he carried around with him was a huge ball of depression and lack of self worth. Every day while we were working together I vowed to make his day something worth while. Something small to get maybe a smile out of him or to just see a glint of positive hope. Every morning I would say my usual “good morning, how are you” with the biggest smile I could muster, just to get an “I’m here I guess” or “Barely making it” or “still living”. Every day I prayed harder and tried to come up with something that I could say or do to just “be the light” for this dwindling soul. Day after day nothing. No change. Until finally I began to feel myself getting a little depressed. What I’m trying to say here is it takes no time for bad vibes to rub off on others. So, for goodness sake, be the light.

I bet you were expecting to hear a happy ending to that story? Well the answer to that question is yes and no. No I never got through to this wonderful person who never accepted his value. He soon went to another job and I haven’t seen him since. Here’s the yes, the happy ending. A while after, I was told that he shared how positive I was with him to his new coworkers. He told them that just having someone that would be nice to him and seemed to care got him through some tough trials. BE THE LIGHT. No matter how hard the work is, be the light.

Here is what I would like for you to leave today’s blog with. It’s a challenge. Starting tomorrow (or oh my goodness start today), do not say anything negative. Nothing. That means for some of us we are going to have to think a little before we speak. Wow that’s a new concept lol. Smile and talk to those that you come in contact with like you would want someone to speak to your sweet child or your precious momma or daddy. Even when you are on the phone. Do this for an entire week. I promise you will see how much brighter your outlook is on life. It will make you feel unstoppable. Now a little warning, it’s not gonna be easy. The devil’s gonna try to get you but, you just have to be strong. Remember you may be the only person in this world that has cared enough to be courteous to that wandering soul in a very log time. So let’s hear it. Challenge accepted and BE THE LIGHT! ❤️ Always

“Memories, light the corner of my mind. Misty water-colored memories”…. okay enough of that. But, don’t you just love the sound of Barbara Streisand’s voice? Oh memories. Folks that know me can truly say I try to OD myself in nostalgia. Doesn’t it just make you feel good all over? What is Christmas time without memories. This time of the year is so tough for so many people. Here we are in this beautiful season of joy but, some of us are missing loved ones, or we feel like we can’t provide for our children the Christmas’ that their more fortunate friends have, or we are alone, or we are just plain Mr. Scrooge (kidding, no not really) and the list goes on and on. For my siblings and I it is difficult because we lost our daddy at the young age of 69 right after Christmas. So, for those of you struggling through just know that you are so important to so many people and you are so loved.

During this time my hope to keep from being “sad” is abundant. I find myself redirecting those feeling by making new “memories” for my little family. Especially for my son, yes, I have an 18 year old strapping young boy. i hope that he appreciates the fact that at 18 years old he still gets a stocking filled with gifts from the jolly old elf and his very own Christmas tree. I know, I know, I’m a bit weird. My hope is that as he becomes even more of an adult, he will remember “home” at Christmas time. Full of good food, warm and inviting, 13 Christmas trees (yes I said that and yes they are all full sized. No, I do not live in a mansion), and the love that my husband and I show to him.

What makes your house “home” for the holidays? I want to tell you a little tid bit about what makes my Christmas bright. Of course my time with my family is the most important. I have a pretty great brother and two sisters that are truly more like my best friends. But the one who holds this crazy train together and is our rock is our momma. She is a living Saint if ever there was one. Here’s my “home”. Walking in to her house around Christmas time. Every year she puts up a Christmas Village and it is sprawled out all over the living room. These little tiny houses that she places so perfectly in their little spots. Oh, I could cry just thinking about it. And good tears, not sad. That my precious friends are what memories are made of.

Now that all I can think about is momma’s village, I want to encourage you to take some time to remember some of your favorite holiday memories. This year especially, the feeling of joy and love is so much needed. If you are a parent what little memories can you make for your babies big or small? And if you are alone at Christmas time think about maybe volunteering in a food bank or at a church to help those that are in need. Because, no one should be alone for Christmas. I want to think that tonight’s blog has maybe caused a beautiful memory to sneak for you. So Merry Christmas, or happy holidays whichever you choose. Love and blessings from me to you.

P.S. Of course I had to show you a photo of momma’s village. And this is just one section. ❤️Always

What a great title to start my blog. It makes me want to say, “In the beginning there was dark and there was light”…… just kidding lol. Everything has to begin somewhere. So let’s start by me explaining to you why I decided to create a blog. In this amazing beautiful world that we live in which seems to be completely upside down right now, I just wanted to do something positive. Nothing political, nothing negative, nothing scary, just a time of positive, inspiring, motivational moments.

My hope is for these posts to make your day brighter. Maybe, jog a precious memory. Give you a little trick or hack that might help make tackling a project a little simpler. Suggest a product that I use or love. Or even give you a review on a restaurant or show you what new recipes I am giving a whirl. In other words this blog is sort of a little of everything.

Finally, I wanted to explain the name of my blog webpage. I thought and thought about what I wanted to title my page. It came down to two names. Obviously the one that I chose and “Wildflowers” (wildflowers are everywhere and this blog will be just that, all over the place). I decided on “The Greatest Oak” because if the following saying which I completely love: “The greatest oak in the forest was once a tiny seed”. Think about that. That tiny little seed had to push its way through tough dirt to sprout and grow into a beautiful mighty oak tree. Isn’t that how we are? For most of us isn’t there so much that we have to push through in this wonderful life? Those struggles my sweet friends, are what makes us strong. Just like the greatest oak, we continue to grow and survive. We thrive. Because that’s how God made us. To persevere, to live, to be happy. So go and live. And more than anything keep being wonderfully YOU! Because life is too short to be anything else. Have a blessed evening. ❤️ Always.